Controlling combustion in a plurality of generators



I v F. '5. BROWN. CONTROLLING COMBUSTION lN-A PLURALITY 0F GENERATORS.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.9. 1911.

1,333,897; I Paten'bedMay4,1920. a

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' MILTNESSES UNITED sTAWoFFmE.

FRANCIS H. BROWN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN M."

HOPWOOD, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTROLLING COMBUSTION IN A PLURALITY OF GENERATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

1 Application filed October 9, 1917. Serial No.'195,626.

- T cltwkom it mafy concern Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. Bnown' residing at Philadelphia, in the county of. Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Controlling Combustion in a.

Plurality of Generators, of which improvements the following is a specification.

In an application filed August 3 1917 Serial No. 184,260 is described a method of controlling the operations on which the generation of steam or other fluid undersuch draft augmented by any suitable means known in the art.

- marily by The invention described herein relates to the regulation of such operations as supplying air and regulating the feed of fuel priand in accordance with the rate of flow of steam through the outlet of each individual unit of the battery, such initial step producing such conditions of pressure 1n the furnace as will result in the proper adjustment in the feed of fuel. The invention is hereinafter more fully described and claimed. K

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, is shown diagramthe consequent generation of steam or fluid 4'5 matically two boiler units with their settings combined with mechanism or dBVlCGS whereby the rate of flow of steam from a common conduit connected to the generators, primarily controls the operations involved in the regulation of combustion and under ressure.

In t e practice of the invention, the generators or boilers 1 are connected b pipes 2 to a common-header or conduit 3 a apted to conduct the fluid generated to the point or points of use. A fluid pressure actuated -motoris.so connected by suitable means to the conduit as to beeperated by .the difference of pressure between the static pressure of the fluid and the static pressure as affected positively or negatively by the velocity of the fluid flowing through the header.

- this rod through standard 19 which in turn In the construction shown, the conduit 3 is provided with a contracted portion which -may be formed in any suitable manner, as

forexample, that shown 1'. 6., by the insert1on of a disk at in the conduit or header having an opening therethrough of less diameter than the internal diameter of the header, which is connected at points on opposite sides of the disk to a suitable motor, as for example, a diaphragm motor 5 by pipes 6 and 7 which are connected to the shell ofthe motor on opposite sides of the diaphragm or movable element of the motor. A lever .8 which is operatively connected to the movable element of the motor, has its free end connected to the frame 9 by a turn buckle or other suitable means and onthis frame is pivotally mounted a bell crank lever 10 having one arm connected to the valve rod of the valve mechanism 11.

This valve mechanism is adapted to control the flow of fluid under pressure from the pipe 12.,through the pipes 13 and 14; leading to o posite ends of a fluid pressure motor pre erably consistin of a cylinder 15 having a piston arranged t tonrod 16 of this cylinder is connected by an arm 17 to a frame on which is adjustably mounted an angnlarly. arranged arm 18 adapted to slidab y engage a shoe secured to the pivotally mounted standard 19 which'is connected by a rod 20 tothe bell crank lever 10. In the operation of this mechanism, the valve mechanism 11 will be shifted proportionally to the variations in the rate of ow through the conduit 3 and the movement of the diaphragm will shift-the frame 9 which, operating through the bell crank lever, Wlll so move the movable element of the valve mechanism 11 as to admit fluid pressure to one or the other end of the cy1i'n-= 'der 15 dependent upon an increase or def crease in the rate of flow of steam along the conduit 3. The movement of the piston in the cylinder 15 consequent on the admission of fluid under pressure thereto,willthrough the medium of the arm 17 shift the angu- Patented May 4, 19.20;

herein. The pislarly arranged" rod 18 and the movement of the shoe will move the pivotally mounte will shift the bell crank lever 10 independent of the frame 9, reversing the movement imparted to thevalve mechanism 11 by the movement of the frame 9, as stated. The piston rod 16 of the cylinder 15 is connected by any suitable means, as for example, a

6 due to variations in the rate 10 case, the su pl mary means to pressure actuated devlces Patent, the pressure whereby 55 vice versa.

cord 21 to drums 22 on the shafts of the dampers 23 in the gas outlet conduits 24 of the units composing the battery, and hence any movement of the piston and cylinder of flow in the conduit 3 will turn the dampers 23 toward open or closed position dependent upon the direction and variations in the rate of'flow in the conduit 3. As in'this of air to support combustion in the re oxes or furnaces-of the enerator results from and is proportiona to the escape of gases and products of combustion from the fire boxes, a shifting of the 15 means employed for regulating the rate of discharge of products of combustion from the fire boxes will be followed immediately by a change in the rate of inflow of air and a restoration of the pressure therein to nor- 20 'mal conditions.

In order to regulate the feed of fuel in accordance with the quantity of steam re quired, a secondary means which, however, is dependent for its operation on the prihereinbefore described, is employed for regulating the feed of fuel to the fire box. In the embodiment of the invention shown herein, each of the fire boxes of the battery is connected bx conduits 25 which may be of any suitable type or construction but preferably that shown and described in' Let ters Patent No. 1,247,215 granted November 20th 1917. As shown in said Letters of gases is transmitted from the fire boxes to suitable mechanisms the flow of fluid pressure to one or the other end of cylinders '26 is controlled, so that the piston in said cylinder will move up or down in accordance with variations of pressure inthe fire boxes, due to shifting the draft controlling means in the conduits 24. The piston rod 27 of this cylinder has one end connected to a lever 28 which is also connected to the valve rod of the valve mechanism 29 adapted to controlthe flow of steam through the pipes30 and 31 to the motor of a suitable stoking mechanism indicated at 32. As will be readily understood, the rate of feed of fuel to each of the fire boxes of the battery, will be dependent upon the pressure of gases in the respective fire boxes, the higher the pressure therein, the lower the feed of fuel and Experience has shown that the several units of a battery will not supply the same quantity. of steam to a header and hence the supply of water or other liquid to ,the

several generators should be made dependent upon the rate of flow of steam from the respective generators. To this end, mechanisms operative by and in accordance with the rate of flow of steam from each unit to the conduit 3 is employed for regulating the the ,movable elements of such motors.

feed of water to each unit. It is preferred to employ a mechanism substantially similar to that shown and described herein for controlling the escapeof products of combustion from the fire boxes of the generators by and in accordance with the rate of flow of .steam Generally stated, these mechanisms consist of disks 33 arranged in the outlet pipes 2 of the several units and having openings therethrough of diameters less than the internal diameters of the pipes 2. Pipes 34 and 35 have one end connected to the pipes 2 on opposite sides of the disks 33 and the opposite ends connected to fluidpressure motors 36 at points on opposite sidesTof he movements of these elements of the'motors are imparted as hereinbefore described, to suitable valve gnechanisms whereby the flow of fluid pressure to opposite ends of a fluid pressure cylinder 37 is controlled and the movements of the pistons or movable elements in the 'motors 37 are regulated by suitable compensating mechanisms, as described, so that such movements will be incremental and not total. The piston rods 38 of the cylinders 37 are connected by any suitable means, as for example, cords 39 to the rods 40 of the valve mechanisms 41, whereby the flow of water from any suitable source, as the pump 42, to the several units is so regulated as to be proportional to the rate of flow of steam through the outlet pipes 2 of such units. I claim herein as my invention: 1. Themethod herein described which consists .in regulating the flow of prod-v ucts of combustion from each of the-furof a plurality of generators by and in accordance with the rate of flow of the generated fluid from all the generators and regulating the feed of fuel to the several furnaces by and in accordance with the pressure in the respective furnaces as affected by the outflow of products of combustion therefrom, and controlling the feed of water by the outflow of productsof come.

herein described which consists in regulating the flow of products ,of combustion from each of the furnaces along the conduits or headers 3.

to the respective generators by and in accordance with the. rate of flow of the generated fluid from suchgenerators.

- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANCIS H. BROWN. 

